Hassock type vacuum cleaner



D N A L m F u M A Q HASSOCK TYPE VACUUM CLEANER Filed May 18, 1962 INVENTOR. CHARLES H. MocFARLAND BY W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,159,862 HASSUCK TYPE "ACUUM (ILEANER v Qhailes H. Macl arland, Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner that is housed in a structure that substantially Completely conceals the appliance.

Attempts have been made to completely conceal vacuum cleaners in articles of furniture, particularly in hassocks, so that the combined structure serves as a piece of furniture and is devoid of any hint of concealed apertures, vents, hidden mechanisms, etc. Although these devices function suitably as furniture, their operation as vacuum cleaners is not totally successful.

The purposes for which furniture and vacuum cleaners are designed are quite dilferent. It has been necessary to sacrifice some of the eifectiveness of a vacuum cleaner by redesigning it to'be completely concealed within a hassock or other article of furniture. In many instances, the hassock or furniture had to be redesigned and specially constructed to accommodate the vacuum cleaner.

Since the vacuum cleaner is entirely concealed within the hassock, the exhaust from the motor frequently soils the upholstery of the hassock. This total concealment also leaves little space for .stowing the vacuum cleaner attachments.

It is an object of this invention to provide a vacuum cleaner that is substantially completely concealed within a hassock or article of furniture and which operates as efiiciently as an exposed or non-concealed vacuum cleaner.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner that is substantially completely concealed within a hassock or article of furniture but which has its exhaust outlet located outside of the furniture to prevent soiling of the upholstery by exhaust from the motor.

A further object of the present invention. is to provide a vacuum cleaner which may be substantially completely concealed within a hassock without extreme design changes in either the hassock or'the vacuum cleaner.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the invention showing a vacuum cleaner mounted substantially within a lidded hassock and with the lid of the hassock in an open position.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale,

of the device of FIGURE 1, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary section of a portion of the filter casing shown in FIGURE 2 on an enlarged scale to show construction details.

The cleaning device shown in FIGURES l and 2 comprises a hollow hassock 10 having side walls 11, a bottom wall 12, and a lid 13. If desired, the outside surface of completely within the hollow hassock. The cleaner assembly comprises an air-tight filter casing 21 extending from the upper surfaceof the bottom wall 12 and an exhaust casing 22 which extends from the lower surface of the bottom wall 12. An aperture 23 is provided in the bottom wall to connect an upper chamber 24 formed by the filter casing 21 with a lower chamber 25 formed by the exhaust casing 22. A cord reel 22a may, if desired, be rotatably mounted at the lower end of the exhaust casing 22.

The filter casing 21 and the exhaust casing 22 cooperate to form a vertically extending air-tight reversestack or downpipe. Of course, the filter casing 21 and the exhaust casing 22 may, if desired, be formed as an integral tubular shell which extends through the aperture 23.

A dust bag or equivalent dust filter 26 depends from the upper edge of the filter casing 21 into the chamber 24. As may be seen more clearly in FIGURE 3, the upper edge of the filter casing 21 is flared outwardly to form a rolled flange 27. The upper edge of the dust filter 26 is connected to a rigid ring 28 which rests on the flange 27. Since the outside diameter of the ring 28 is larger than the inside diameter of the filter casing 21, the ring 28 will support the upper edge of the dust filter 26 in a position adjacent to the flange 27. The chamber 24 is closed by a suitable cover 29 which extends over the flange 27 and the ring 28. The negative pressure which is created in the chamber 24, in a manner which will hereinafter become apparent, serves to hold the cover 29 in place. The filter 26 is restrained against movement by being pinched between the cover 29 and the flange 27. The cover 29, the flange 27, the filter 26, and the ring 28 cooperate to form a tight seal during operation, but which permit the filter 26 to be easily removed and replaced. The seal formed by these elements requires less vertical space within the hassock 10.

A standard exhaust motor-fan 31 is mounted within the exhaust casing 22 and causes air to flow downwardly through the stack in the direction of the arrows as is shown in the drawings. A multiplicity of exhaust ports 31 are provided in the lower end portion of the exhaust casing 22 to direct the exhaust radially outwardly from the casing 22. The ports 31 are located well below the hassock 10 to prevent any possible soiling of the upholstery by the exhaust.

A swivel connection 32 is provided in the center of the cover 29 and is held in place by a suitable snap-ring (not shown). An erect hollow mast 33 is releasably received in the swivel connection 32 and communicates therethrough with the upstream side of the dust filter 26. The upper end of the hollow mast 33 is slightly flared as shown or otherwise adapted by any suitable known means to releasably receive a flexible vacuum hose 34. The upper end of the mast 33 is of suflicient height to support the vacuum hose above or at least out of entangling engagement with the upper edges of the side walls 11 so that the cleaner functions effectively and conveniently as a swiveltype canister cleaner. It is desirable that the upper end of the mast 33 be curved sideways, as shown.

The vertical alignment of the chambers 24 and 25 permits an effective'and eflicient flow of air through the vacuum cleaner 20 and a resulting superior cleaning action. Furthermore, this in-line construction minimizes corners which form dead spots where dirt may collect.

The filter casing 21, aperture 23, and exhaust casing 22 are preferably centrally located in the interior of the hassock 10 to provide a space where the hose 34 may be stored by winding it around the filter casing 21. The lid 13 is provided with a recess 35 to provide for the convenient storage of additional accessories 36. The accessories 36 are mounted in clips 37 provided in the recess 35.

. The invention is not restricted to the slavish imitation of each and every one of the details described above which have been set forth merely by way of example with the intent of most clearly setting forth the teaching of the V 3 invention. Obviously, devices may be provided which change, eliminate or add certain structural details without departing from the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A hassock type vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow lidded container having side walls and a bottom wall with a centerward opening therein, legs supporting said container well above floor level, a vacuum cleaner assembly comprising a vertically extending air-tight down-pipe, said down-pipe being only partly located within said lidded container and extending through said opening in said bottom wall of said lidded container and being spaced from all of said side walls of said lidded container to provide a hose storing space within said lidded container, a filter chamber at the top end of said down-pipe and within said container, a removable cover for said filter chamber, a downwardly directed blower means in the down-pipe below the filter chamber, and exhaust openings in the down-pipe below the blower means, said exhaust openings being spaced a substantial distance below said bottom wall of said hollow container.

2. A hassock type vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow lidded container having side walls and a bottom wall, legs supporting said container well above floor level, a vacuum cleaner assembly comprising an air-tight vertically extending filter casing centrally positioned on said bottom wall within said container and an exhaust casing fixed to and vertically depending from said bottom wall beneath said filter casing, an aperture in said botom wall connecting a filter chamber formed by said filter casing and an exhaust chamber formed by said exhaust casing, a removable cover for said filter casing, downwardly directed blower means in said exhaust casing, and exhaust openings in said exhaust casing below the blower means, said exhaust openings being spaced well below said bottom wall of said hollow container.

3. A hassock type vacuum cleaner as defined in claim 1 including a cord reel at the lower end of the down-pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,231,326 Dow et al Feb. 11, 1941 2,313,423 Dodd Mar. 9, 1943 2,332,208 Dow Oct. 19, 1943 2,491,680 Meyerhoefer Dec. 20, 1949 2,544,405 Weir Mar. 6, 1951 2,603,816 MacFarland July 22, 1952 2,771,151 Osborn ,Nov. 20, 1956 2,779,432 Meyerhoefer Jan. 29, 1957 2,937,396 Momberg et al May 24, 1960 3,002,215 MacFarland Oct. 3, 1961 

1. A HASSOCK TYPE VACUUM CLEANER COMPRISING A HOLLOW LIDDED CONTAINER HAVING SIDE WALLS AND A BOTTOM WALL WITH A CENTERWARD OPENING THEREIN, LEGS SUPPORTING SAID CONTAINER WELL ABOVE FLOOR LEVEL, A VACUUM CLEANER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING AIR-TIGHT DOWN-PIPE, SAID DOWN-PIPE BEING ONLY PARTLY LOCATED WITHIN SAID LIDDED CONTAINER AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENING IN SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID LIDDED CONTAINER AND BEING SPACED FROM ALL OF SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID LIDDED CONTAINER TO PROVIDE A HOSE STORING SPACE WITHIN SAID LIDDED CONTAINER, A FILTER CHAMBER AT THE TOP END OF SAID DOWN-PIPE AND WITHIN SAID CONTAINER, A REMOVABLE COVER FOR SAID FILTER CHAMBER, A DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED BLOWER MEANS IN THE DOWN-PIPE BELOW THE FILTER CHAMBER, AND EXHAUST OPENINGS IN THE DOWN-PIPE BELOW THE BLOWER MEANS, SAID EXHAUST OPENINGS BEING SPACED A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE BELOW SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID HOLLOW CONTAINER. 